China cracking down on pollution with revolutionary green policies

The government's war on air pollution fits neatly with another goal: domination of the global electric-vehicle industry

China is cracking down on pollution like never before, with new green policies so hard-hitting and extensive they can be felt across the world, transforming everything from electric vehicle demand to commodities markets.

Four decades of breakneck economic growth turned China into the world’s biggest carbon emitter. But now the government is trying to change that without damaging the economy — and perhaps even use its green policies to become a leader in technological innovation.

China’s air pollution is so extreme that in 2015, independent research group Berkeley Earth estimated it contributed to 1.6 million deaths per year